Hey Ya'll I know you have heard this before but bare with me. no one has mentioned Switch it's all My Lights don't work. Well with a little playing with the position of the rod mine all work.

When I got my truck I noticed the Dimmer switch is not working properly. you have to play with it (by stomping it) to get the High beams to work.

But when your Headlights are 49" in the air you don't need High beams so I don't use it. Well on to the Point!!

To get all the Lights working at the same time I have to pull the Headlight switch out and then push it back in a lil bit. when I first pull it out all the way the Headlights come on and that is all. Then you push the switch rod in just a tiny bit and the dash lights and tail lights come on.

So I went and pulled the switch and found a wire had got kind of hot at one time and warped the Plug so off to the junk yard I went and picked up a switch and plug with a 6" pigtail. I came back and swapped the parts exact.... and still I have to push the **** in just slightly to make them work.

I kind of figured I had to go get a New switch so didn't think much of it. (it's not my dailly driver) but someone else on another board has an 88 F150 and asked the same question. He has installed some auxillery lights and now has that problem. If I didn't get lights at all I would think wiring but with a slight push of the switch I get all lights?????

Sorry about the ramblings you have to tell the whole story

 

Hmmm, Id venture to guess its obviously related to the switch and not the wiring, maybe you got another bum one at the j-yard?

I dunno, weird

 

Is this in the 88 Edward? I'm not sure if they're setup the same way the old 70's trucks are but on mine ALL the lights were fed via the headlight switch so if that switch went bad or if the plug was slipping off the back you could lose them all at the same time. I'd grab another one from a bone yard and throw it in there or if you can't find one let me know. I'll probably be by the yard this weekend and can snag one for you and mail it over. Also, for the dimmer switch, they get gunked up easy if there's a lot of moisture or mud (hmm . . . not in YOUR truck! ). If you unscrew it from the floor you can spray carb cleaner or brake clean up in there and then when it dries hit it with WD-40 and that'll usually do the trick. If they didn't change the wiring setup you'll have 1 wire running to it that comes from the switch and then on the opposite side will be 2 green wires (low beams) and 2 red wires (high beams). The single wire is power coming straight off the dash switch and the floor switch just clicks it back and forth between the two sets of wires to select which beams you're using.

Hope that helps, let us know what you find out.

 

Yeah it's in the 88........ I didn't think much other than (Yes I need a new switch) untill I seen someone else post about the same problem?? Just thought I would put it out there and see if anyone else has had this same problem and maybe found something spicific that needs to be done. Like (( in accordance with TSB blah blah blah you need to?????)))

Thanks for the Threads my Brethren from the Northwest Chapter!!!!!

No Better place in this world than the North West Chapter,, Keepin it real

 

Fo shizzle!

Stupid thing about this wiring setup is all the wattage that feeds the lights has to run through the switch so I'd imagine the internals have a fairly limited life. I'd bet if you check around you'd find it's common for these switches to die. If you ever have spare time and about $5 you can set them up with a relay for the headlights. Tail lights will still be fed via the switch.

 

It's probably not the switch.

What you are doing is putting the switch in the middle of it's position, which makes the contacts in the switch bridge over to other circuits. Your running lights circuit is dead, but by putting the switch in the middle, you are using the headlight power to run the running lights. Here is a diagram.



What you are missing is the circuit on the tan/white wire. There are several different power feeds to the switch. Either the tan/white wire is burnt in two, or the fuse is blown, etc.

 

I think Dave's got it there. Ed, keep us posted

 

Ok, I'v got a plug with a slight burnt spot on it, I didn't notice any broken wires. Would the best thing be to get a used plug, or try and fix the existing plug? As it stands now, I can also move the light switch carefully to get all the lights running, but that dosen't help when it comes to an inspection. So any thought's would be appraciated.
Thanks, B

 

83Stick I went to the Junk Yard and bought a complete switch and plug with about a 6 inch Pigtail. then just transfered all the exsisting wires. But it looks like I need to investigate even more... When I get my Injection pump installed and get it back on the road I'll post up with my findings.

 

If you can find a plug that is in good shape in the junkyard, that would be the way to go. But look it over carefully. A lot of these trucks had this problem. I guess one other option is to see if a standard crimp slip-on spade connector will slide over the switch blades. You could mark the wire locations and hook them up individually to the switch with seperate connectors.

 

or you can go to ford and buy a new plug with 8 inch leads for around $15.
i did that route last year after 4 bad junkyard plugs, and no more problems.

 

That's good to know. Thanks.

 

Well Heck I didn't know that I paib $15 bucks for the Junk yard one.
And a parts Store want's $20 for just the new Switch..

 

I'd still replace that dimmer switch. I had a bad one that chose to die one night as I was pulling up behind a police car. Hit a small bump and the lights went out. Policeman was really nice and stayed until my friends arrived to help me.

 

where do I go to get the Ford part?

15 bucks, that would be the ticket!!

Thanks, B